


Three Magical Ws

by Chrysalin



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Violence, POV First Person, Sarcasm, Werewolves, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 01:18:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19121665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrysalin/pseuds/Chrysalin
Summary: A strange old man apparently has issues with a guy being friends with a woman? And decides to overreact in possibly the most illogical way possible? Sure, why not.





	Three Magical Ws

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this was a random thought experiment from several years ago. I'm not overly fond of it but it's not bad?

There aren’t many people that believe in magic these days. Science pushed everything else out, leaving no room in our minds for wonder. Some people think that if magic ever existed, it died out long ago.

It’s fascinating how thinking we have all the answers leaves us blind.

* * *

Nicholas was a normal guy, as they went. Pretty average height, dark blond hair, brown eyes. Not perfectly built, but who is, really? He also had the misfortune of angering a wizard. Curses are no fun. Especially not ones involving death.

You must be wondering what he did to deserve what happened. Normally, his answers would have been inconsequential, expected, nothing out of the ordinary. Do you know yet? No? He was talking to a friend about a girl! Horrible, right? Right?

Okay, I said it wasn’t normal. Or I said something to that effect.

So the wizard heard him talking about a girl, and he COMPLETELY overreacted. The curse he had on Nicholas would affect them both.

Me? I’m that girl.

* * *

Nicholas had been feeling increasingly strange all day, but he couldn’t understand it. He had been fine that morning. During his lunch break, he had been eating at a nearby café and felt something like a bite. Like some big animal bit him. Needless to say, there were no large animals nearby. His coworkers asked what was wrong, but Nicholas had no idea. Still, he had passed the remainder of the time confused and in pain, constantly rubbing his shoulder. By nightfall, he was worried. The pain of a bite that hadn’t happened was getting worse every minute.

When the wizard appeared in his house, he was understandably baffled. “Who are you?” he demanded, reaching for a heavy paperweight on his desk.

“That hardly matters. I am here as a courtesy only.”

“Courtesy? You – what did you do? – break in and it’s a COURTESY?!”

“You have until moonrise.”

“What the hell are you talking about, old man?!”

The wizard was indeed an old man. Long, unkempt salt and pepper hair fell in tangles over his badly wrinkled face, and his green eyes were filled with cataracts. He was clearly stooped with age.

“Till moonrise,” he repeated, “then your life changes forever.”

Nicholas stared at him for several long beats. “Look,” he said finally, “I think you’re confused. If you give me your address, I’ll drive you home.”

“I am not ‘confused’, young man. I came to bring word of your curse. That is all.”

“Curse? What do you mean?” His grip tightened on the paperweight, but Nicholas couldn’t bring himself to use it.

“A curse ended only in death. You will see.”

“What –?”

The words were cut off suddenly as the moon rose into the night sky.

* * *

For a heartbeat, all there was in Nicholas’ mind was pain. And between that beat and the next, the world seemed to change. Things seemed taller. Scents grew stronger, enough so that Nicholas could smell an animalistic odor on the wizard. His body felt unfamiliar.

And in the next, again. A strange urge filled his mind until rationality was all but gone.

The old man spoke once more. “Find the girl you were discussing earlier. Kill her or turn her, but she must die if you wish to break the curse. If not, only your own death will free you.”

That urge, until then vague though pressing, erupted into a killing intent. Nicholas, trapped in his own mind, screamed, but the drive smothered it and forced him to follow.

* * *

I was home, of course, in bed for the night after a long day’s work. Moonrise was late, and he had been long in coming. I woke to an unbelievable sense of alarm, and my hand went at once to the knife on my bedside table. 

A great grey wolf bounded into my bedroom and leapt for me, but I had been at the edge of my bed. I dropped over the side a fraction of a second before it would have landed on me.

In that moment, I had realized that its eyes were human. I knew those eyes.

“Nicholas,” I gasped as the wolf turned to growl at me. “My god, Nicholas!”

The wolf was a man in a flash – a pale, trembling man. He managed to stumble into my bathroom before he began to vomit. I quickly hid the knife in a drawer before I went to him.

“Nicholas, what happened?”

He shook his head, still looking pretty nauseated. “I don’t know. I was having a crazy dream, and – Kristen, how did I get here?”

 

“What were you dreaming?”

His already too pale face lightened several more shades. “I – I – no. It- I wouldn’t. I would never try to hurt you?”

See, Nicholas is my best friend. Has been since high school, and that was ten years ago. But more than that, I don’t think he’s ever realized I’m in love with him. How else would I know him just by the eyes?

 

“Just tell me what happened,” I prodded. I probably could be gentler, but the guy I loved had just been a wolf trying to kill me. 

“There was an old man,” he said shakily. “I didn’t know him, but he appeared in my house out of nowhere. He said something about a curse and moonrise.”

I groaned as realization struck. “You’re a bloody werewolf!”

“I can’t be!” Nicholas protested. Outside, the full moon glinted as if to support his words.

“Why else would you be in my house, as a wolf, trying to kill or bite me or whatever?! I don’t know a lot of other things that involve curses or moonrise.”

No need to share my little secrets just yet. As it was, I should have kept my windows closed tonight.

“I don’t understand,” he moaned.

My eyes narrowed. “Did you mention me to this guy? Did he mention me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? I think after the world went strange…”

“Great. Not just a werewolf curse, but one specifically aiming you at me. That’s brilliant. Any idea why your mystery old guy wants me dead?”

He looked a little sick again. I felt sick too, so I hardly blamed him.

“I can’t be a werewolf.” He glanced at me. “You’re being pretty calm.”

“I’ll probably freak out later. For now I’m running on adrenaline.”

I closed my eyes and tried to organize my thoughts. I had some ideas about what was going on, but none of it would help with the problem. Namely, Nicholas being a werewolf.

“I need sleep,” I said finally. “I can obliterate my scent outside my room, so if you go into wolf mode again it’ll keep you from coming after me. Can you take the couch?”

“Sure, I guess…”

“You should be fine come morning.”

I got him settled downstairs before I did something – not saying what – to destroy my scent. I didn’t know how long it would be before the wolf flared up again …I couldn’t sleep. It was just shy of dawn when I gave up, so I decided to get out of bed. At least it was Saturday and I didn’t have to work. Nicholas didn’t either – also a good thing. I slipped a light robe over my shorts and tank top and headed downstairs, only to look up and meet the wolf’s too human gaze. At which point I realized I should have waited for the sun.

If he hadn’t been on the far side of the room… if my knees hadn’t crumpled at the exact moment they did… I would’ve died. I managed to gasp out his name as the sun rose before the wolf could try again.

Then I fainted. I was such a girl.

* * *

When I came to, Nicholas was holding onto me looking absolutely panicked. For a moment, all I could think was how nice it was to be in his arms. Reality hit like the proverbial load of bricks.

“You tried to kill me!” I screeched. It was unreasonable, but I was a bit panicked, okay?

 

“Kristen, I didn’t mean to –” 

“DIDN’T MEAN TO?! I know you ‘didn’t mean to’! That doesn’t help, does it?!”

Nicholas looked down. “I’m sorry.”

Logic finally caught up, and I softened like a marshmallow. It was almost sad. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I know it’s not your fault. I’ll see about fixing it, okay?”

“I don’t know how you can help.”

“Well, I certainly don’t want to be wolf chow. Obviously I have to do something.”

“But what?”

He looked so pathetic. I realized a moment later that his shirt was off and his shoulder was covered in blood. “You haven’t run into a literal wolf, have you?”

“No. Why?”

“Have you seen your shoulder?

 

Nicholas craned his head to look and went white again. “Where did that come from?”

“My guess would be that’s your werewolf bite.”

“But – how –?”

“You’re more likely to have the answer to that than I am. Let me take a look at it. I’ll get my first aid kit.” I’m a nurse, in case you didn’t know. 

He only nodded as I hurried to get it from my downstairs bathroom and was still trying to get a good look at it when I came back.

“Hold still. I need to clean it off.” I deliberately ignored his wince as I poured disinfectant over the injury. “It’s not as bad as it looks, Nicholas, so try to relax. Tensing up won’t help.”

“So how would a wolf bite me without my knowing?”

“Actually, there’s no way a real wolf bit you.” I could see the damage now, and that much was definitely clear. “I have tooth marks, but a wolf wouldn’t just sink his teeth in. He would have pulled a chunk out of you, and that didn’t happen.”

“So then what?”

“Best guess? Werewolf curse. Lycanthropy goes both ways. The curse can be transferred through a bite, of course, but it can also be a spell.”

Nicholas seemed absolutely lost. “How do you know?”

“Well, I am a witch.”

I should learn to be less blunt.

He gaped. “Run that by me again?”

“I’m a witch,” I reiterated. “You know – spells, magic, et cetera. Witch.”

The way his mouth kept opening and closing made him look more like a fish than a wolf. I drummed my fingers idly against one knee and waited for him to say something.

“A witch? Like broom-and-wand ‘Harry Potter’ witch?”

“Hardly, but that would be cool. Real witches aren’t like that.”

“What are they like?”

Well, if he was focusing on that, he wouldn’t be freaking out as much about the whole werewolf thing.

“I can’t speak for all witches; as we go, I’m pretty low-grade. I don’t have enough power to need to be classified as a Brightwitch or Nightwitch.”

“You lost me.”

“Okay. Brightwitches are your standard good witch. Charms and such. Nightwitches are your bad witches, the type that cast curses and do nasty things to people. Well, it’s actually more complicated than that, but that’s not the point. I’m neither.”

“What’s left?”

“Kitchen magic. Witches who aren’t strong enough to really do any harm, regardless of their alignment. We do things like keep milk from spoiling or cookies from burning. Little stuff.”

He stared at me. “That’s it? Cookies and milk?”

“And cleaning and various minor charms or curses. Certainly nothing in the league of what you got slapped with.” I finished bandaging his shoulder and pulled back. “It’s not that we’re powerless. We just aren’t in the same league. And besides, we generally do get at least one stronger gift.”

“Like…?”

“Like me. I can shape-shift into a sparrow, for one. It doesn’t seem impressive, but I love flying. Two, I’m a curse twister.”

Nicholas’ expression lit up. “You can break the curse.”

“Hell no,” I said flatly. “This sort of curse would take a full Brightwitch to lift, and even that’s on the optimistic side. I can only change it enough to take the edge off.”

“So I’m still screwed.”

“Yes and no. The wolf is in you now, and I can’t do anything about that. I can, however, temper it.”

“How?”

“For one, I’ve disabled the moon ties. I found and disturbed them last night, but it took practically every ounce of power I had available. After you finished scaring ten years off my life, I removed it entirely. I’ll be able to do more, but that’ll take recharge time. I’m tapped out.”

“Thanks… I think.”

“You’d better believe it. That took a lot of power.” I yawned suddenly. A sleepless night, a massive dose of fear and adrenaline, and magic use had worn me out.

“You okay?”

He wasn’t being precisely the guy I knew. I mean, if I was scared, he had to be absolutely terrified. Never mind my needing a panic attack; I could only imagine how hard a time he was having holding it together.

“We need rest,” I said finally. “You’re not likely to turn into a wolf, but the compulsion to kill me might still be there. If you have any ideas, now would be a good time to share.”

“How would I know?!” Nicholas snapped. His face fell moments later. “I’m sorry.”

I waved it off. “You must be freaked out. I’d be more worried if you didn’t shout a little. So. I can turn the urge to kill to something else, but I’m power-broke. I’ve got nothing left.”

“Is there a way to regain magic?”

“Undoing what I’ve done.”

“Ah.” A moment of silence fell. “Bad choice.”

“Yeah.”

“… Anything else?”

“I don’t know. I generally collect magic at the hospital, but I’m not working this weekend and it’s a slow process.”

“You can get magic at a hospital?”

“I derive power from life and growth, so yeah. I don’t know a ritual location that could get the energy more quickly.”

“The forest?” he suggested. 

“Good thought, but I don’t know if that could get me enough.”

See, we live in a city on the edge of a national park, and good stretches of it are all but undisturbed. There had been a few spots I never would’ve reached without wings. Some of the Brightwitches I knew used the forest as a recharge spot, so I knew it was possible, but a Brightwitch could do a lot of things I couldn’t. I snagged the phone from the table and tapped in one of their numbers.

“Yes, this is Vivianna Luna.” Pretentious woman. I couldn’t stand her, but she was the most likely to have the answers I needed. “I was just on my way out, so –”

“Viv, it’s Kristen Michaels. I just need to ask you a few quick questions.”

“Then ask, pet, but really, do hurry.”

Pet. Gah. “I wanted to go for a hike, and I need to know if Eagle’s Peak is a good spot.”

“How would – oh. Looking for an escape, pet? Yes, the peak is a splendid choice. Do take care, though. It can be a bit difficult to handle.”

Easier than a werewolf curse. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. Thanks.”

“No problem. Ta, my dear!”

“Ta,” I muttered disgustedly as I hung up. “Pet. God, I hate her.”

Nicholas stared at me. “What was that?”

“A Brightwitch says I should be able to get what I need at Eagle’s Peak. Trouble is no human can get up there.”

“You can fly.”

“There are plenty of things up there that would eat a sparrow. Last time I literally got away by a few pinfeathers.”

“Can a wolf?”

“Probably, but – whoa. Oh, no. You are not going wolf on me again. That would cost me more than some feathers, thanks.”

“But the killing compulsion will come at night, won’t it? I don’t feel it now.”

“…Most likely,” I admitted reluctantly.

“And the wolf is in me anyway,” he pressed.

“…Yeah...”

“So why not?”

“When did you get so logical?” I demanded irritably. 

“When it gets me what I want.”

“Why would you want to run around a dangerous mountain?”

“Well, I’d like for you not to die because of me.”

I melted a little. I mean, it was sweet. And, yeah, I know it was my rose colored being-in-love glasses that made it seem so nice instead of self-serving, but hey. It could’ve been both.

“I need to get up there, though. Not you.”

“What predator would attack a wolf to get at a sparrow?”

An excellent point. “Do you even know how to make the change?”

“No.” Pause. “Do you?”

I sighed. “I think you should be able to become a wolf whenever you want to now that I broke the moon ties. I could be wrong.”

Since there was a wolf in my living room a moment later, I guess not.

* * *

So we got in my car and drove into the park. Fortunately, the weather had turned from sunshine to a misty rain, leaving the place all but deserted. Still, I hate flying with wet feathers. We hiked the trails as far as I could, despite our mutual exhaustion. There was no point in drawing attention to ourselves, after all.

Great plan. Didn’t work at all.

I was going into the restroom – last one before we left the path – and ran straight into Nicholas’ wizard. Unknowingly, of course. He glared horribly at me.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to hit you. Are you okay?”

His scowl got more ferocious. “How is it you are alive?”

Well, that certainly sparked both my attention and my awareness. As far as I knew, three people knew of our current situation. Me. Nicholas. And whoever was responsible. I was a sparrow in an instant, but this guy had more power than me. There was a burst of magic, and the world turned black for the second time that day.

* * *

Now, what happened after this I got secondhand from Nicholas. I, obviously, was indisposed. What do you expect happened? Well, you’re probably wrong. I was.

It didn’t take Nicholas long to realize something wasn’t right, fortunately. If he hadn’t shown up before moonrise, I don’t know what would have happened. It’s still unbelievable that the werewolf curse managed to save my life when it was supposed to kill me.

Nicholas turned to the wolf and followed my scent through the forest. Well off of the beaten path, there was a tunnel concealed beneath masses of thorny bushes. They would have put off a pursuing human, but a wolf’s pelt is thick. Once inside, that form was no longer necessary – there was only one path.

Now, I need to clarify a few things. Werewolves are magical beings, yes, but through no power of their own. The first moon cycle’s transformations are accomplished by the energy used in casting the curse. That’s only enough to sustain three changes, one for each night of the full moon. After that, the power comes from the moonlight directly. Nicholas had used that energy already, as well as the excess magic I had shoved into him to disable the moon ties. The wolf was gone until the full moon rose again. He would have to deal with the wizard as a man.

The tunnel terminated in a belowground cavern, likely a natural formation. At best guess, there were probably several others.

I was there, of course. As was the mysterious wizard.

This guy seemed to be rather fond of drama. There was an altar of black marble set in the center of the space, where I was apparently tied up like a virgin sacrifice. Had I been conscious, I would’ve killed him.

I’m not a particularly large person – I’m tiny, to be honest. I doubt even this old guy had a hard time carting me around a forest. This leads to the idea that I am quite breakable. Awake, I’m not. Working at a hospital every day tends to toughen you up. Out like this, though, the wizard would have an easy time using me as a human shield.

By the time Nicholas arrived, the wizard’s behind the altar, knife in hand. My knife, coincidentally, which annoys me to no end even now. Other people aren’t allowed to touch my knife. Ever.

“I expected you to follow, but I will admit I am surprised you arrived so soon.”

“I learned to use what you did to my advantage.”

“Such bravado. You do realize that the situation is futile, I hope. Someone will die here.”

“And you want it to be her.”

Now, however did he figure that out?

“That would be ideal, yes. Of course, you might choose to take your own life instead. If you do, I shall dispose of the witch.” Yeah. He knew what I was. Not good. He tossed my dagger into the air, watching it flash in the dim light. How I wish he had caught the blade and sliced his hand open. No such luck.

“Do you know what this is?” the wizard asked.

“…A knife?”

“A ritual dagger. An athame, crafted from silver and the blood of its mistress. A witch’s tool, one very suited to killing one such as you.”

“Okay. If your point’s that she could’ve killed me, you might also see she didn’t.”

Of course I didn’t.

“No. And why is that, pup? Why was she not forced to kill you while you were mad with blood-fever?”

“Maybe I’m tougher than you thought. Besides, you are the one who didn’t realize you were using your spell to target a witch. Makes it seem like your bad call, doesn’t it?”

Male posturing. So pointless. Still, this information had the potential to be useful. But really, why is it that the bad guys feel the need to stand around and chat rather than finish what they started?

“Tell me why,” Nicholas demanded. “Why me? Why here? What does this accomplish?”

“You are inconsequential, pup. Your only crime was in trusting a woman. The girl was always my true target.”

“But why?! I doubt she’s done anything to you.”

He toyed with my athame. “I was in the same position as you once. A girl’s life or mine. I went to her, begging for help, but when the wolf overcame me, she shot me. Well, it wasn’t silver. I tore her apart. I learned that day how futile it was to trust a woman.”

What crap. She defends herself, and you condemn the entire gender? Please. I would’ve shot him too. Nicholas tells me he had no real response for that, and maybe he really didn’t. It’s hard to find a good answer for such a stupid statement.

“So you can kill the girl and end your curse, or you can be a fool and take your own life. Regardless, she will die.”

Obviously not true.

“I won’t become a wolf tonight. I won’t do it.”

“It cannot be contained forever.”

“We’ll figure something out.”

“Very well.” The wizard threw my athame at Nicholas’ feet. “Make your choice.”

He snapped up the knife. “Neither.”

Naturally, the wizard didn’t care for that. He tossed a fireball at Nicholas. It was fortunate that he had my athame – a witch-blade can act of its own accord, and since it knew I was helping him it was okay with chipping in. The blade moved in his hand and absorbed the flames. They vanished into the silver without a trace. 

The wizard growled and drew a ritual sword from beneath the altar.

“That’s hardly fair!” Nicholas protested as he rolled out of the way. He’d nearly had his head chopped off. “Little knife versus big sword and all that.”

Of course, everything ground to a halt when the wizard put said sword to my throat.

“I do not want to do it like this,” he warned. “Drop the knife.”

Later, Nicholas told me it seemed like time stopped. Clichéd maybe, but it really does seem like that in intense situations. When I asked him why he made the choice he did, he said it was easy.

The silver blade fell to the ground.

“Good pup. Now will you kill her, or shall I dispatch you both?”

What came next was something they didn’t expect, and I could scarcely believe it even after the fact. 

A pulsing current formed around Nicholas – the first sign of power he’d ever displayed. A moment later, it… burst. The blast tore through the chamber, passing over me to strike the wizard. Most was absorbed by his protective amulet, a wolf’s tooth held around his neck by a leather cord. Taking the brunt as it had, the cord snapped. The attack both shocked and wounded the wizard, and he disappeared into another passage concealed in the rock. 

“Kristen!”

As I said, I was out for the whole thing. He snatched my athame up and cut my bonds. Good, but not going to wake someone from a magically induced stupor.

Now, I think at this point Nicholas just figured if some of the stories were true, they all were. To clarify, no.

He pushed the knife into my hand – right move – and kissed me. It was nice, but kind of stupid. Had he paid attention, he would have noticed I had begun to wake up the instant my athame was in my grasp. Given my personal inclination, this would have gone on a while, but no such luck. He pulled back after only a few seconds.

“You’re awake?”

I waved the dagger a little before sitting up and returning it to the sheath at the small of my back. Like any sensible witch, I always kept it close. 

“Once I had that, it only took a second for his spell to break. What happened?”

He was blushing. It was adorable. “Nothing.”

“I meant with the wizard. Somehow I noticed the kissing part on my own.”

So he told me. Since you’ve seen my commentary, you should have a general idea of what I said at this point. Just add more cursing. I was in a bad mood. 

He handed me the tooth after I finished. “He left this.”

 

I turned it over a few times, studying it. “Probably a mistake on his part.”

“Why?”

“Well, like witches, wizards have ritual tools to aid in their work. Unlike witches, they have more than one. The sword you described would probably be his big one, but this one… Well, he’s probably a bit pissed now.”

“…Why?”

Yeah, I guess I didn’t really answer the question. “This is what he used to cast your curse. Destroy this, the curse will fail.”

“So how do we do that?” Nicholas asked. 

“I can’t. There’s enough power in there to kill me if I tried. However…”

* * *

We took the amulet to Vivianna the next day. I was too tired to deal with her that night, and he was wolfed-out for the time being. I called the Brightwitch when I woke up around noon.

“Yes, darling?” she purred. “Did your hike help?”

“Long story,” I answered. “How good are you with breaking stuff?”

 

“Run into something you can’t twist into shape?”

“Something like that. So?”

 

“I’m sure I can make something work, pet. Bring it by and I’ll see what I can do.”

If I muttered a little after hanging up, it was kind of half-hearted. Nicholas came downstairs a moment later.

“She’ll help?”

“Of course she’ll help. I’ll owe her a big favor, and she loves that.”

“She’s one of those?”

“Absolutely.”

He glanced at me. “I still don’t understand what happened yesterday.”

“I don’t either. I’m hoping Vivianna can tell us something – she has way more contact with wizards than I do.”

“Will she be able to break the curse?”

“I hope so, but even if she can’t, I’ll find someone who can. I don’t care if that means hunting down your wizard and forcing him to.”

* * *

It didn’t come to that, fortunately. Vivianna and I did some digging and found a bunch of useful information regarding the curse, and she did the prep work for undoing it. Annoying or not, she is powerful. We rejoined Nicholas in her home office. Workrooms are absolutely off-limits to non-witches barring specific permission.

“Let’s see this curse wound, pet.”

Nicholas pulled off his shirt, and I undid the bandages. 

“The scar won’t go away,” I told him. “Even if this works.”

“That’s fine.”

Vivianna held the tooth against it. “You’re sure it’s this, darling?”

“Of course.”

“All right. Hold still, handsome. This will hurt.”

Without warning him, she drew her athame and slammed it through the tooth and into Nicholas’ shoulder. I winced, and I had known was about to happen. Poor Nicholas screamed. He looked ready to be sick when she pulled the blade free. 

“Was that necessary?” he gasped as I hurriedly applied pressure to the wound. 

“Yes. Werewolf curses are rooted in blood, so the source of the curse needs your blood to be destroyed.” I glanced at Vivianna. “It did work, right?”

She nodded. “It’s gone. Except for the scars, it’ll be as if it never happened at all.”

Since the blade was sharp and had – fortunately – not dug too deep, I managed to staunch the bleeding fairly quickly with a touch of magic. I snagged a jar of salve from the desk and applied a thick layer before tightly bandaging the wound. Another bit of power eased the pain as I put his arm in a sling.

“You’ll have to be careful,” I warned him. “I didn’t put in stitches – it would only reduce the scarring, and I can do that without them.”

“Thanks.”

“What do I owe you, Viv?”

“Well, I’ll take the boy if he’s available.”

My jaw dropped. “Oh, HELL no! I contacted you, not him! I pay the tab.”

She clucked her tongue. “So rude, pet. It’s hardly my fault I didn’t know you were in love with him.”

I was making growling, choking, gasping sounds by now. Nicholas gaped.

“Repeat that?”

“Didn’t you know, darling? Little Kristen is in love with you.”

She was dead when I got my hands on her. 

“Oh. Well, that’s good.” …Say what? “Being in love works best both ways.”

Oh. Um. Maybe I shouldn’t kill her after all?

He was studying me with a wicked little smirk. “Unless she was wrong?”

“I. Um. No. Not… wrong. A blabbermouth,” I muttered, glaring, “but not wrong.”

“Try admitting it.”

I stared at my shoes. They were really fascinating, all scuffed up white leather sneakers. “I… love you?”

“Without the question, maybe.”

“You haven’t exactly said it either.” He just waited. “Fine. I love you, Nicholas.”

That grin slipped across his face again. “Good.” I growled. “I love you too.”

* * *

We were watching the full moon rise a month later before he asked if I’d found out anything about the magic trick he had unknowingly used that day.

“You mean with the energy tide?” He nodded. “Yeah, I hunted down some information while we were at Vivianna’s, but I got… distracted.”

“Well?”

“It turns out that there are some people that slowly build up magic their entire lives, but barring a crisis it won’t release. You found your crisis.”

“Good time for it.”

“Agreed.”

Nicholas studied the stars. “What about the curse? That wizard couldn’t have been powerful enough to change a curse that old.”

I had been teaching him a lot of basic magical knowledge since what happened. Given our apparent knack for trouble, it seemed a good idea.

“Actually, that variation is almost as old as the original, as it turns out. Someone pissed off a druid a long tome ago, and the druid slapped them with the modified lycanthropy spell. The original werewolf line died out generations ago.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Kristen?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

I smiled. “You’re welcome, Nicholas.”


End file.
